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About Caffrey Insurance Solutions
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That Procedure Costs How Much?
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A massive federal database of national health care costs was made public last week, according to an article in the Huffington Post.
If you want an eye opener on just how much prices can vary for the same procedure, we recommend you take a look at the full data set.
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Best Broker in the
East Bay
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Review us on Yelp!
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Thanks to your great reviews, we have a five star rating on Yelp. If you have received good service from Caffrey Insurance Solutions over the years, please drop by and let prospective customers know about your experience. We really appreciate your time! Thank you.
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Group Coverage Could Help Your Next Tax Day
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If you are currently considering small group coverage for your emplo yees, you may not know that in addition to tax-deductibility of premiums, there are also tax credits available to groups of 2-50 employees.
For more information,
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How Long Will You Live?
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This easy and fun calculator estimates your life expectancy. It was developed by Northwestern Mutual Life, and it tries to predict how long you're likely to live.
The predictions aren't going to be close if you do have a long-term health issue, but generally it works well. Barring long-term health problems, we are going to live a long time, most was into our late 80s or 90s.
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| Do You Like This Newsletter? | |
Some of you may be receiving this newsletter for the first time. We have been expanding our outreach efforts, but by all means, if you are not interested in receiving future newsletters, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page. If we haven't spoken in a while and you have concerns about health insurance that we can help you with, please let us know.
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| As You Grow, We Grow With You | |
Please ask about additional services and value-added products such as HR administration and online policy management tools.
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| Testimonials | |
"Your expert advice is always appreciated. I literally don't know what I would do without you. You give me the most valuable gift of all: time." --Scott Gordon
"I'm glad there are individuals like Gabriel who can break it down so the average joe can understand the ins and outs of each plan, and make better-informed decisions."
--Kerwin K.
"You are different from any image I have had of an insurance broker. I simply enjoy being with you. I experience a combination of efficiency, care, honesty, commitment and flexibility. I couldn't ask for better. --Miki Kashtan
"Lynn is friendly and genuine without being intrusive, overly chatty or fake, navigating the sometimes challenging boundary between professionalism and human interest with natural ease." --Yelp.com Review |
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Greetings!
In an ongoing effort to keep you apprised of changes in the health care arena, we are commenting below on subsidies and reduction of paperwork requirements.
Future newsletters will discuss actual plans and rates as we get them, in addition to what will happen to your plans as the carriers transition to new mandated benefits. You should know that if you are not eligible for subsidies (see below), your rates will probably go up, but benefits will improve as well. Part of what we will continue to do for you as brokers is assist you in sorting through the choices and finding what's best for you.
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Early Renewal Opportunity for Group Plans
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As of our latest information, Aetna, Blue Shield of California, Anthem Blue Cross and Health Net will allow you to "renew" your group policy on December 1st, 2013 to maintain your current plan at 2013 rates. Kaiser may allow it for renewals between January and June 2014. This is an opportunity to shield you from the expected price increases and volatility in the benefits market during the initial first year implementation of full health care reform.
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Caffrey Insurance Solutions Presentation on Health Care Reform and How It Will Impact You and Your Business!
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Every month this year until the beginning of 2014, we will host a presentation on the industry health care reform legislation, new rules and how they impact prospective and current group and individual clients. Our goal is to increase your comprehension of all of the issues so that you can continue to make the best choices regarding your benefits.
The session will be on July15th, 2013 at 9:00 AM in the conference room of our offices at 405 14th Street, Suite 204, Oakland, CA 94612. We're centrally located just above the 12th Street Oakland BART Station.
We can handle approximately 20 attendees for these sessions. They will be a great opportunity for you to get ahead of the coming changes of Health Care Reform and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
To sign up, please click here.
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What Would Lynn and Gabriel Do?
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Q: I would like a low cost high deductible family plan. I have 3 children. One may arguably have a problem that would make it expensive or impossible for her to be approved for coverage. What should I do? I'm part of a company but I'm the only US employee.
- Make application and see what happens. The child cannot be declined but can be charged increased rates up to 350% of the standard rate.
- Ask your company to hire another US employee to qualify for a small group plan.
- Ask your spouse to get a job long enough to get group benefits so you can at least have something to elect Cobra from.
- None of the above.
None of the above.
A: We had a very difficult time with this one. We requested pre-underwriting from several insurance companies and were told that the child would be rated up quite a bit. One that that saved her is that was applying during her birthday month which meant her premium could only be doubled. But we (and the client) persevered and found a carrier that would accept the family at standard rates, saving them around $1100 per month.
What can we do for you?
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CA Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan Transitions to Federal PCIP Program on July 1, 2013!
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Beginning July 1, 2013, California no longer operates the federally funded PCIP program. To continue receiving health coverage after June 30, subscribers must activate a new PCIP benefit plan through the federally-run PCIP program before July 1.
In June, subscribers will receive an Enrollment Letter which includes information about the federally-run PCIP program, how much it costs, and how to activate their coverage. To activate the new coverage on July 1, 2013, subscribers must pay their first month's premium by the deadline stated in that letter.
For more information on the federally run PCIP, you can go to www.pcip.gov.
If you have not paid your June premium for California PCIP by May 30, 2013, please do so immediately or you will be disenrolled before the PCIP transition. If you have already pre-paid your July premium for California PCIP, any credits on account will be refunded. If you have a credit card payment or an automatic electronic fund transfer to the California PCIP, these automatic drafts will be discontinued.
Premiums paid to the California PCIP, including pre-paid premiums for future months, cannot be applied toward your premium in the federally-run PCIP program.
If you have questions about your existing California PCIP, you can call 1-877-428-5060 (Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, Saturday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm) or go to www.pcip.ca.gov.
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Calculating Potential Insurance Costs in 2014
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This online calculator provided by Covered CA, the new health care exchange taking effect January 1, 2014, will help you estimate how much it will cost you to purchase health insurance in 2014 and the amount of your financial assistance.
If you already have affordable insurance from your employer or a government program like Medicare or Medi-Cal, you will not be eligible for these cost-saving programs and the calculator will not apply to you.
Your health insurance cost estimate is based on the information you provide. This estimate will give you an idea of how much insurance will cost. Insurance rates for 2014 have not yet been finalized so keep in mind that, once you are ready to purchase a health plan, the actual cost will likely change from this estimate.
To use the calculator, simply enter several pieces of key information.
- Enter household size and income for all individuals included on your tax return (yourself, your spouse and dependents, if applicable).
- Enter age information only for those household members who need coverage.
The calculator will put all that information together and provide you with the estimated monthly cost for insurance, which appears in the calculator as "Your Estimated Monthly Silver Plan Premium" and takes into account any financial assistance you might receive from the government. The calculator will also indicate whether your income makes you eligible for Medi-Cal.
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About Caffrey Insurance Solutions
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Lynn Caffrey and Caffrey Insurance Solutions is a family business employee benefits brokerage firm that provides insurance expertise for small companies (fewer than 50 employees) and individuals seeking individual or family coverage. We also provide Medicare assistance.
Caffrey Insurance works with you to find the best insurance benefits that provide the best value, tailored to the unique needs of your company.
California License Information
Lynn Caffrey: 0557451
Gabriel Caffrey: 0H66348
Caffrey Insurance Solutions, Inc.: 0G80281
Caffrey Insurance Solutions, Inc.
405 14th Street, Suite 711
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